Wednesday, June 07, 2017

Getting high on speed!

No, this post is not about drugs. I am talking about the reasons I do what I do. For me, sport represents a number of things. Physical exercise is an important part of my mental health maintenance, and sport gives me more reasons to be active.

I also enjoy the challenge of improving on my past performances, as well as friendly competitions against others.

As for my choice of sport, that’s a combination of ability and interest. The fire brigade competitions are something that caught my imagination as a kid. Ever since first seeing the urban fire brigades state championships in the 1970s (at the age of 6!), I knew I wanted to take part. At that time, I had no idea how I’d fit in, given my general lack of sporting ability at the time. However, I did join as a junior and have run when I’ve had a chance, now a total of almost 20 years.

As for track sprints, this is another sport I’ve long had an interest in, but in this case, living in a small town in my teens, there were no opportunities for anyone over the age of 15 to compete within an hour’s drive. In this instance, I was drawn to the thrill of travelling at high speed.

As I got older, I learned of the so-called “runner’s high”, normally experienced in distance events, and which I, myself, have experienced after my hlf marathon in 2006, marathon in 2008 and a number of rogaines over the years. But for me, the sensations encountered in a sprint, from the power and acceleration of a start to top speed, where inertia and wind resistance dominate, followed by the long deceleration under inertia from top speed.

The fire brigade competitions also involve similar sensations, as well as putting together some precision movements, which are satisfying to pull off.

Another aspect of my sporting performance is there’s little documentation for training someone on the spectrum with significant coordination issues to high performance levels. While I work with mainstream clubs and coaches, I try and get better explanations for some skills and the occasional modification to some instruction techniques to better suit my needs. While in some ways I’m flying a little blind, it is also exciting exploring this unknown territory, to see how far I can push the boundaries. Already, I am now faster than I recall recording in my mid-late teens, with the prospect of even better performance in the years to come.

Maybe one day, my experience will help others at least enjoy a sport, if not achieve their own successes.